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Gaia Ascending

Hello everyone! My name is Ben, and I’m excited about getting the chance to write for Urban Hermits. My love for the planet and excitement of writing will finally be able to come together in a harmonious effort. There is much to discuss! There are some magical things to be said about the Earth.

Natural remedies and herbs can be gathered and created from nature to bring healing to our bodies. The fact that this planet, a ten trillion in one chance, exists the way it does at all; able to nurture and support the seeds of life. What about the fact that plants also feel? That’s pretty incredible. Most of us don’t take the time to see these magical things though. In our modern day society, we are ruled by time, and labor. Day in and day out we work for the almighty dollar. Not because we want to, but because this is simply how things are. It’s how we are able to survive. That’s how it is in the concrete jungle.

When did we lose our connection with all things mother nature? Why is its value so little, to so many? We can all say how much we don’t support the destruction of the rainforests, but what are we really doing about it? A few of us might give some cash to WWF, or another environmental agency; more of us will do nothing. And every day that passes, our planet loses another piece of its magic; the soul that binds us all.

Medicine is derived from nature itself; so why do we profit off the sick with synthetics; Chemically based derivatives that bear only little semblance to their natural counterparts. Why still, do we taint our food with the use of pesticides, and how long will it take for the pests of today to become super bugs immune to everything thrown at them. How long before Roundup comes around with an even more powerful and agriculturally damaging toxin?

Worse yet; why has the American populace allowed this to take place?

My theory is simple. In today’s world, most people only do what is convenient for them. Recycling is an easy example I can use. We are no strangers to recycling. We are aware that these services exist, and they exist for a good reason. And yet, their importance in an ever evolving green world is vastly understated. I am currently living in Chicago and it is beyond me why recycling is not utilized throughout the entire city. My apartment complex has no recycling bins of any kind, and all I can think of when I’m dumping my recyclables into the neighbors bins is how much re-useable stuff is going to the garbage. And actually, we can uncover more flaws in the recycling dilemma by looking at materials beyond plastics, cans and bottles.

You have batteries and electronic pieces of random junk getting thrown away all the time, things that lack a proper recycling method because what the trucks come to pick up varies from place to place, and most pickups won’t accept batteries, you have to drop them off at special locations. What about copper wiring, how much of that can be reused? There are surely a great many materials everybody throws away daily. But there is nothing accessible to recover those materials. You have to go completely out of your way to take care of these kinds of things, and usually it’s only so you can get rid of one small item, and no one wishes to hoard useless junk until it’s convenient enough to get rid of it.

The world is in a state of upheaval. Now, more than ever, it is important that the people begin to recognize the disharmony and strain we are putting on our planet. We need to live by the words “Just because we can do something, doesn’t mean we should.” This is a statement I learned in a persuasion speech class that addresses the morality of the art of persuasion, but I believe that you can apply it to many instances in our daily lives. And we can certainly apply it to environmental awareness.

We can use it to say, that consumers have the real power, and to make real change happen the consumers must band together and really choose the best course of action. We can say that there are better energy sources than oil and coal, and choose to invest in those. Even if they take a little more cash out of our pockets, we are making a direct statement with that money. That’s when our words truly transform from just words, to direct action. We call forth our will by choosing what to support, and justifying what we believe in.

And this is what I want to explore in my time with Urban Hermits. I want to bring ideas forth, and highlight the ways in which we can all not only help our planet, starving for a little attention, but also help ourselves. By changing our world for the better, and leading happier, healthier lives.

There are multiple ways we can live out our lives; why are we settling for this one?